DNB Asset Management AS Increases Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

DNB Asset Management AS boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,263 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,145 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Union Savings Bank boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.4% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,766,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 9,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. BTIG Research raised Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider R Broad Matthew 5,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.6 %

DRI stock traded up $2.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $143.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,202,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,230,471. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $146.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.01. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.73%.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.